Paper-feeding machine.



W. s. AMIDON.

PAPER FEED ING MACHINE. APPLIGATIOiI FILED JUNE 13, 1910,

Patented Apr. 11, 1911.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM S. AMIDON, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN. ASSIGNOR T0 NATIONAL MAILING & MFG. 'CO., OF RACINE. WISCONSIN.

PAPER-FEEDING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented A r 11, 1911 Application filed June 13. 1910. Serial'No. 566,595.

it; all whom it may concern:

lie it known that I. \Vumuu S. Animus. a citizen of the United States, and resident of l\'Iil\\".|ukee. in the county of l\lilwaukee and State oi \Visconsin. have invented cer 'tain new and useful Improvements in Paperblank sheets or periodicals to other machines adapted to operate thereon. the COIlSl'lltCllOll and arrangement being such that a stack of paper blanks or periodicals placed in a hopper may be fed as units from the bottom of the hopper. thus dispensing with various mechanical moven'ients necessary in elevating a stack of blanks when the same as units. are fed from thetop of a stack, as is usually the. case in devices of this character.

The invention therefore consists in various novel structural features and combination of parts as hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed. 1

In the, drawings: Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectional view of a machine embodying the features of my invention, and Fig.2, a detail fragmentary plan view of the hopper bottom andblank-support showing a suction-head in position thereunder.

Referring by numerals to the drawings, 1 indicates a frame having secured thereto adjustable side-plates 2 constituting the walls of a vertically disposed hopper, into which are dropped a stack of blanks 3. as indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The

. blanks normally rest upon a vertically reciprocative hopper bottom The bottom 5 is secured to legs 6, which legs are guided in bearings 7 that. are fast to the frame, only one of the legs. and bearings being shown. Each leg is provided with studs 8 that carry rollers or engagement with riven cam-wheels 9, by means of which cam-wheels the bottom is raised or lowered at a predetermined time. The said bottom 5 is provided with longitudinal slots 10 adapted to receive. strippers 11 and also an edge recess 12, into which recess projects a suction-head 13. the latter together with the strippers being located directly under the aforesaid bottom. The strippers are mount. ed upon and horizontally reciprocative o'n guide-rails 14. that are secured b brackets 15 connected to the frame. 1. sai strippers being in link-connection with arms 16,which arms hare roller-engagement with camwheels 17. a portion of one of which camwheels only is shown. the said cam-wheels together with cam-wheels 9 being secured to a driven-shaft 18 mounted in the frame.-

lhe suction-head 13 comprises a soft rubber cup mounted upon a suction-tube 19 that is adapted to be vertically reciprocated. -|n ,Q'uules 20. the upper one. of which constitutes a portion of the inner bracket 15 prcvimisly mentioned. Motion is imparted to the said snetioi'i-head by a bell-crank 21 in pivotal connection with the bottom sup porting legs (3. one arm of the bellcrank being in loose connection with acollar secured to the suctiond'ube 19. while the op: posite arm thereof is provit'led with a pin for engagement with a slot in the upper end of a lever 22. This lever is fulcrumed upon a stud 23. its lower end being provided with a roller 24 that. is titted'into a cam-wheel 25 secured to the (.lrive-shaft- 18 before mentioned. The lower end of the suction-tube 19 is in hose-connection with a pump-cylinder 26. the piston 27 of which is provided with a relief-valve adapted to break the suction upon the. t:()lll]')l'8SSl0l l strokeof said piston, which latter lS tl1S() in link-connectioii with an arm The said arm is oscillated by means of a roller secured thereto for engagement with acam-wheel 29 fast on a drive-shaft 30. the drive-shaft being driven at the. same speed and in the same tongue which acts as an entering wedge between the blanks, the said support being adapted to enter the hopper area at a' predetermined time in order to support and separate the stack ofblanks from the unit designed to beexpe'llod therefrom under, which unit will then be carried downby the bottom 5 and discharged from the same by the'described strippers. The support 31 is mounted upon gu1de-rails 32 by means ofape'rtured ear-extensions of said support, the rallils constituting part of the frame and are seltured thereto. Horizontal reciprocation of'the support is obtained through an arm 33, the upper end of which engages the said support, while the lower end is fulcrumed upon a spindle 34: secured to the frame, there being a roller 35 secured to the arm and projecting into a grooved cam-wheel 36 fast on the drive-shaft before mentioned.

Directly beneath the support, at what may be termed the discharge-end of the'hopper 5, is a receiver or table 37, the said receiver being upon a plane approximately the same as that of the bottom 5, when the latter is dropped to its lowest elevation. This-receiver is secured to a cross-bar of the frame and is provided for the purpose of catching the blanks as they are discharged from said.

bottom 5- preparatory to the entrance of said blanks 'inany machine (not shown) that may be arranged to receive them. In place of the receiver bein r in the form shown, in some instances the same may constitute a pairof feed-rollers or traveling belt-conveyers.

When the machine is in its normal posi' tion, all of the parts are in the same relation as is shown in Fig. '1, except the suctionhead, the mouth f which would be upon th e same approximate plane as the upper face of-the bottom 5 and contacting with the lower blank or-periodical. Motion being imparted to the machine willcause the pump to start on its' suction-stroke, this causes the suction-head to adhere to the blank,-and the said suction-head will now movedown (through its cam-wheel connection) to the posit-ion assumed in Fig. 1, bringing with it that portion ofthe blank .whichlg bridges over the bottom recess 12.

through"the pin-and slot connection of its bell-erank-"with relation to the cam-lever. Wherr'th'ejbottonr 5 has reached its approxiinatedpwnyv'ard limit,'.the suction stroke has beengooinpleited, and upon-reversal of the plstohltliefreo fjto a compression stroke the vacuumis immediately broken, Simultane ous with the release the suction, cam

wheel 17 acts to force the strippers forward, which strippers are now above the plane of the bottom 5 havingentered the slots therein, and in their advance will expel the blank from said bottom, the said blank being delivered to the receiver.

From the foregoing it will be seen that by, utilizing a movable bottom and temporary supports for the blank, and a suct1on mechanism, I am enabled to feed accurately one blank at a time from the bottom of a stack, thus utilizing gravity as the primary means for feeding the blank.

' Having described one complete combina tion of well known mechanicalelem'ents for accomplishing the results desired, it is obvious that the same form no part of my invention in detail except so far as they or their equivalents .are necessary in attaining the several movements.

I' claim: r

1. A fGGdJIIBChELIIlSllI for blanks or the like comprising a hopper having a vertically reci" rocative bottom thereunder, longitudinal s ots in the vertically reciprocative bottom, a horizontally reciprocative stripper disposed below and alined with the slots of said reciprocative bottom, a horizontally reciprocative blank-support, the said blank support being located adjacent one side of the hopper and upon thenornial plane of the vertically recipro cative table, and a suction-head having its mouth upon the sameapproximate normal plane as that of the vertically reciprocative bottoni.

2. A feed-mechanism for blanks or the like, comprising a hopper having a verti'-' a cally reciprocative bottom thereunder, longir tudinal slots in the vertically reciprocative bottom, a horizontally reciprocative stripper, the stripper'being located below and alined with the slots in said bottom, and a" longitudinally reciprocative blank-support. adapted to enter the hopper over the aforesaid bottom.

3. A feed-mechanism for blanks or the like, comprising a hopper having a vertically reciprocatlve bottom thereunder, 'a longitudinally reciprocative blank-support arranged to travel ver'the bottom-when the same 1s at its approxiniately highest eleva tion, and a longitudinally reci proc'ative stripper arranged to travel across the'verti- I ,eally reciprocative bottom when the sameis at its approximate lowest elevation.

4. A feed-mechanism for blanks orthe. like comprising a hopper'having a vertically reciprocative bot-tom thereunder, a longitudinally reciprocativ'e blank-support arranged to travel across thejbottom when the same is at itsapp'roximately highest elevation, and-a suction-head 1n conjunction with the bottom.

5. A 1 feed-mechanism fer this. er the like, comprising hopper-walls, a vertically reciprocative bottom beneath the same, slots in the bottom, a longitudinally reciprocatiye stripper under said bottom and alined with the slots, a suction-head carried by the aforesaid bottom, and a longitudinally reciprocative blank-support adapted to pass under the hopper-Walls and above the atore said reciprocative bottom in timed relation to the motion of the latter.

6. A teed-meclninisni for blanks or the like. comprising hopper-walls, a vertically reciprocative bottom beneath the same, slots in thebottom, a longitudinally reciprocative stripper under said bottom and alined with the slots, a suctionhead carried by the aforesaid bottom, a longitudinally reciprocatire' .blank-support adapted to pass under the hopper-Walls and above the aforesaid recipro'c'ative bottom in timed relation to motion of the latter, and a receiver disposed to one side of the reciprocative bottom upon a lower plane than that of the longitudinally reciprocative blank-support.

7. A feed mechanism for blanks or the like, comprising a hopper having a vertically reciprocative bottonrthereunder, slots in the bottom, a longitudinally reciprocative stripper under said bottom, a vertically movable suction-head in connection'with the aforesaid bottom, a pump in connection with the suction-head, driving means for the pump in timed relation witlrthe recip'-- rocative motion of the bottom,'-and a 1011-.

gitudinally reciprocative blank 'support adapted to pass under the hopper in timed relation With thesaid reciprocative motion of thebot-tom.

8. A feed-mechanism for blanks or the like, comprising a hopper having a vertically reciprocative bottom thereunder, slots .in the bottom, a longitudinally reciprocative stripper under said bottom, an operating cam-Wheel for said bottom, a suctionhead in reciprocative timed relation to the aforesaid bottom, a cam-Wheel in connection with the suction-head, whereby motion is imparted thereto independent of its relatiye timed movement with the bottom, a pump in connection with said suction-head, camcontrolled driving means for the pump, and

a longitudinally reciprocative blank-support adapted to pass under the hopper, and cam controlled driving means for the blanksupport.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee iii the county of Milwaukee and State of hisconsin in the presence of two Witnesses.

WM. S. AMIDON,

VVitnesses Gno. W. Yotmo, N. E. OLIPHAN'I'. 

